Toilet seat mechanism



April 28, 1942. H. s. CAMPBELL TOILET SEAT MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet '1Filed Nov. 18, 1940 INVENTOR Ap 28,1942- H-.-s. CAMPBELL TOILET SEATMECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 18, 1940 INVENTOR April 1942- H.s. CAMPBELL 2,281,265

TOILET SEAT MECHANISM Filed Nov. 18, 1940 I Sheets-Sheet 3 1 I i I l /14I h l l 63 -|NVE NTOR- J W W @atented Apr. 28, 1942 I STATES PAT 21Claims.

This invention relates to toilet seats and is more particularlyconcerned with mechanism for raising and lowering such seats.

Toilet seats hinged to swing down into position on the bowl have beenstandard for manyyears. Also toilet seats which are sterilized by beingraised into a cabinet in which the seat is disinfected by exposure tosome disinfecting medium, for example by the rays of an ultra violetlight, have also been proposed and manufactured. Prior constructionshave necessitated the handling of an unsterilized handle or the like,

' to move it into or out of position for use. It

mechanism which is compact in nature and is arranged to be assembled ona base adapted to support and house to a large extent the variouscontrol and actuating units and linkages.

.A more specific object of the invention is to provide a unit containinga return spring for raising the seat combined with a piston device fordamping and controlling the rate of seat movement, said unit beingplaced in an upright position whereby space is conserved and theconstruction simplified. When fluid is used in the cylinder as a dampingmedium, the upright position eliminates the need for a complicatedsealing gland to prevent leakage.

A further object of 'the invention is concerned with the design of abase or chassis which contacts the bowl only at two points, theremainder of the assembly being spaced therefrom, thus simplifying theproblem of maintaining the bowl and base in a clean and sanitarycondition.

Another specific object of the invention is the provision of adjustablestops for the limits of mechanical movement whereby the seat may beaccurately positioned in its raised position to compensate formanufacturing inaccuracies thereby permitting greater leeway inmanufacturing tolerances.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a simple andreliable latch mechanism for retaining the seat in its lowered positionand for automatically releasing this seat and permitting it to return tothe cabinet after use. One form of this mechanism contemplates a timingdevice which automatically permits the return of the seat to the cabinetafter a predetermined interval.

How these and other objects of the invention are obtained will be clearfrom the following description of the drawings in which- Figure 1 showsa front elevation of a complete seat unit according to the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the unit.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is an enlarged view showing the base assembly according to thepresent invention.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55, Figure 4, showing theoperating or pedal shaft assembly.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6, Figure 4, showing theoperating latch.

Figure 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 1-1,Figure 6, showing a de-\ tail of construction of the latch.

Figure 8 is a sectional view through the base support taken on the line8-8, Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a sectional view through the control and return unit takenon the line 9-9, Figure 4.

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 9 with the parts shown in seatdown" position.

Figure 11 is an enlarged view showing the piston details of the controlunit. 7

Figure 12 is a view of an alternative latch arrangement illustrating atiming device.

Figures 1, 2 and.3 indicate the relationship of the seatitself to thecabinet and other parts of the assembly. The seat is composed ofv twosides It and Ma mounted on hinges l5 and lira. A cabinet It is providedinto which a seat fits in its raised position. Openings I! and Ila areprovided in the front of the cabinet through which the seat may pass.The sterilizing lamp is indicated at it and from Figure 3 it will beseen that a rear reflector i9 and a front reflector 2a are provided todirect the rays of the lamp 1% around the edges of the seat parts It andMa to provide complete sterilization.

The toilet bowl is indicated in chain dotted outline at 22. A pedal 2|projects from the outside of the cabinet. The seat and pedal areindicated in raised position in full lines. In Figure 2 the seat isindicated in lowered position by dotted outline Hm. The correspondingposition for the pedal is indicated at 2 lm. Movement of the pedal 2| byfoot pressure to the-position Zlm causes the seat to be lowered toposition Hm where it is retained until pressure directly applied to theseat lowers it completely to horizontal position after which, uponrelease of direct pressure, the seat is free to return automatically tothe cabinet. The mechanism for operating and controlling the seat inthis fashion will be described in connection with the various figures.

In Figure 4 the sides of the seat It and Ida are shown mounted on hingesl5 and |5a which in turn are securely fastened to a hinge rod 23 bymeans of pins 24. The rod 23 is supported in bearing standards 25 whichare part of the base unit indicated generally by numeral 26. Thestandards 25 are adapted to be mounted on the toilet bowl 22 by means ofbolts 21 (see also Figure 8) which pass through the holes provided inthe bowl 22. A recess having a surface 25a is provided in the standard25 upon which a clamping action is produced by bolt 21 to securelyanchor the base unit 25. A washer 28 preferably of deformable materialis placed vunder each standard 25.

The base unit 25 consists of a beam portion 29 extending across thecentral portion of the base and to which the hinge supporting standards25 are connected. At the ends of the beam portions 29 box-likeformations 38 and 38a are provided. These boxes serve to house andsupport the actuating and controlling mechanism for the seat operation.

By reference to Figures 4 and 5 the operation of the pedal actuatedlinkage for lowering the seat will be seen. The pedal shaft .unit 3| isillustrated in position separated from the operating mechanism in orderto show the method-of assembly. The pedal unit 3| has a shaft 3|a withslots 3|b in the end. The shaft 3|a fits inside the recess in thecooperating shaft 32 to which the arm 33 is attached. Shaft 32 issupported in the bearing bracket 34 which is mounted on the box portion38 of the frame. Pins 35 project inwardly and upon assembly with pedalshaft 3M, pins 35 are engaged by slot 3 |b to cause movement of the arm33 upon movement of the pedal 2|. ures 1 and 2) passes through the hole3|c and engages threads 31 in arm 33. By the above construction thepedal arm 2| may be readily assembled in position without the need forremoving the cabinet. This facilitates making the installation since aminimum of assembly is required after removing from the packing case.

Arm 33 projects forwardly and downwardly as i will best be seen inFigure 5. A shorter arm 38 is attached to the hinge shaft 23 andprojects forwardly. A link 38 has one end connected to the shaft arm 38by means of pivot 48. The other end of link 38 is attached to operatingarm 33 by means of pivot 4|. A slot 39a is provided in link 39 to permitlost motion for a purpose which will be evident as the descriptionproceeds. Figure 5 are in their relative positions corresponding to the"up position of the seat.

A second arm 42 is attached to arm 38 and projects generally upwardlyand rearwardly. The relative position of these two arms 38 and 42 isclearly shown in Figure 6. Arm 42 contacts and co-operates with thelatch member 43. Latch member 43 is mounted by pivot 44 to bracket 45. Alight spring 46 is provided to urge the latch member downwardly and atthe same time tends to hold it in contact with arm 42 under lightpressure. A pin 41 projects from the arm 42 and engages a cam surface 48in the part 43. Reference to Figure '1 will indicate the relativearrangement of these parts.

Moving the pedal causes the seat to be swung into lower position asindicated at l4m Figure 2 and brings the arm 33 into a positionindicated by the line 33m. The corresponding positions for the arms 38and 42 are indicated at 38m and 42m, Figure 5. Here it will be seen thatpivots A bolt 36 (shown in Fi The parts as shown by full outline in 48and 4| are now in positions 48m and 4|m. Also pin 41 has moved toposition 41m and in doing so has swung across the lower cam surface 48of the cam link 43. The configuration of cam link 43 is such that at theend of cam surface 48 there is a circular depression 43 which drops downinto place against the pin 41 after it has reached the end of camsurface 48. The parts come to rest in this position and are retainedtherein by the cam surface 49 preventing the pin 41 from moving back.Upon movement of the seat I4 to the full down position the pin 41 ismoved a small amount further forwardly than position 41m so that it isfreed from the depression 49 thereby permitting the cam link 43 to dropunder the influence of its weight and the spring 46 until the top camsurface 58 engages the pin 41. The pin 41 is now in position to moveback along the cam surface 58 to its initial starting position when theseat I4 is released so that it may return into the cabinet. Springmechanism to be described later is used to provide the energy for thisreturn action.

In Figure '1 a section across the cam member 43 is shown. Here it willbe seen that the cam surface 48 is arranged so that a small ledge isprovided where the cam surface 48 passes the opening of the return camsurface 58. Thus the pin 41 is forced to follow the cam surface 48 inits movement corresponding to the lowering of the seat. During itsreturn motion the pin 41 follows the cam surface 58 and comes back intoI the cam surface 48 toward the end of the return movement by movingover an inclined surface 5|. The latch arm 43 is permitted by spring 48to move away from the arm 42 slightly to permit the pin 41 to slide overinclined surface 5|.

In Figure 5 it will be seen that in the up position" the arm 33 comes incontact with a stop screw52. This screw is fastened in bracket 53 and isadjustable to provide the proper setting for the arm 33. The lowerposition of arm 33 is also governed by another screw stop 54 which isadjusted so that the pedal movement is stopped at the proper position topermit the pin 41 to be latched into position against the surface 49,the seat being in lowered position |4m. To release the seat from thislatched position it is necessary to move it a slight distance furtherunder the influence of a weight, such as the body weight, applied to theseat. Due to the slotted hole 39a in the link 38 this slight additionalmovement is permitted without moving the pedal 2|.

The control and actuating mechanism for returning the seat into thecabinet will be described with reference to Figures 4, 9 and 10.Attached to the hinge shaft 23 by means of pins 55 is a cylindricalmember 58 to which is attached a pair'of arms 51. An upright cylinder 58is fastened in position on the frame box 38a by means of screws 58.Inside the cylinder a piston device 68 is located at the lower end of apiston rod 8| which projects through the cylinder cover 58a. A helicalcompression spring 52 is interposed between the piston device 68 and thecover 58a. At the upper end of piston rod 5| is mounted a yoke 53 havingtrunnions 84 at the ends thereof. Connecting links are attached to theyoke 53 by means of trunnions 54 and pivotally connected at their lowerends to the arms 51 by means of pivots 86 The cylinder 58 is partiallyfilled with fluid such as oil, the level of the fluid being sujfficientto cover the piston device 88 at all times.

The details of the construction of the piston device 60 are shown moreclearly in Figure 11. A piston member 60:: is retained in place by meansof shoulder Bio and nut 61. A collar part 68 retainsa flat washer part69 in position with freedom for a slight amount of movement in an axialdirection. Holes are provided in piston member Ella and are positionedto be covered by washer 69. Thus upon upward movement of the pistondevice 60 the washer 69 falls to its lowest position against member 68,permittingfree flow v of the fluid downwardly through the holes l0. Upondownward movement of the piston device 60 the fluid resistance-causeswasher 69 to move upwardly to the position shown in full lines againstthe piston 80a, in which position it closes off the flow of fluidthrough the holes Ill. Thus downward motion of the piston is greatlyrestricted since the fluid is forced through the small annular clearanceprovided between the piston and cylinder.

The operation of the spring and piston device will be as follows: Aslight initial compression is given the spring so. that it tends toretain the seat in up or closed position as illustrated in Figure 9. Inthis position the arm 51 points of the cylinder. To lower the seat theoperator moves the pedal in a fashion previously described andconsequently rotates shaft 23. As the seat is lowered into position l4m,the arms 51. are swung upwardly to the position shown in Figure 10 andtheir motion is transmitted through links 65 to the piston rod 6|causing the piston to be raised and the spring 62 to be compressed.

During this lowering movement little restriction is offered by the fluidso that the seat may be brought quickly into lowered position. Aspreviously described the seat becomes latched in position m and isretained in this position until a weight or force moves the seat tohorizontal position l4d (see chain dotted outline Figure 10). This finalmovement releases the latch and upon removal of the weight from the seatthe compressed spring 62 immediately acts to raise the seat into its upposition. The restriction of the hydraulic device when moving in thisdirection controls the return so that it isa slow gradual motion.

Occasionally a return overload on the cam latch part 43 may'occur suchas when the seat is grasped by"the hand and an upward force applied totry to return it to the cabinet. Under these circumstances, in order toprotect the mechanism from injury, it is desirable that the seat shouldbe released from the latched position. The surface 49 of the cam 43 isshaped so that the pin 41 is retained in position 41m under normalcircumstances, such as under the return spring action. The small camspring 46 holds down the cam in this latched position. Upon applicationof an overload to pin 41 the angle of contact with surface 49 is suchthat the small spring 46 is overcome and the cam 43 is lifted sibilityof leakage so that a complicated sealing device around the piston rod isunnecessary.

Figures 4, 9 and 10 also disclose how-all the operating parts aremounted on the frame'unit 2|.

which carry the socket units 16 in which the ultra violet raysterilizing lamp is is mounted.

In Figures 4 and 5 an electrical transformer I0 is shown mounted on topof bearing bracket 34 which supports the pedal arm. A pair ofelectricconducting wires 19 are provided to connect the seat unit with a sourceof electrical current. One wire 19a of the electric cord is connecteddirect ly to the primary coil of the transformer 18 while the other wire1% has the switch 80' connected into it in series. Switch 80 is amercury type switch and is mounted onarm 33 in a position which causeselectrical contact when the seat is in its raised position, but breaksthe electrical connection when the seat is in the lowered position. InFigure 4 it will be seen that the secondary coil of the transformer 18is connected by wires 8la and.8lb to the light sockets l6. thuscompleting the electrical circuit for operating the ultra violet rayla'r'np It.

A plug or cover member 83 is provided to close the hole 82a and supportthe electrical cord 19. This plug 82 is readily removable and providesaccess to the rear adjustable stop screw 54 to permit adjustment of theseat lowering mechanism.

After the assembly ofthe operating partsand the front support H with thereflector and lamp mounted thereon, it will be seen that all that isrequired to complete the finished seat unit assembly is to apply therear portion of the'cabinet with the rear reflector l9 and then thefront cover of the cabinet. lhe cabinet is fastened on the frame 28 bymeans of screws" (see Figure 1).

Figure 12 illustrates an alternative form of latch mechanism forcontrolling the release of slightly to allow pin 41 toreturn along camsurface 48 to the .seat up position.

A seal 58b is provided at the point where the piston 6i emerges from thecylinder cover 580.. This seal is a simple washer type seal of flexiblematerial which is compressed against the cover 58a when the seat is inthe raised position. The chief purpose of this seal is to preventleakage of fluid from the cylinder during shipment and handling prior toinstallation of the seat upon a toilet bowl. Once the seat is installedthe upright position of the cylinder prevents the msthe seat fromlowered position. The latch member 43 is generally similar to that shownin Figure 6. However instead of a depression at the endof cam surface 48a smooth surface 88 is provided. Thus when the pin 41 reaches the end ofcam surface 48 the weight of member 43 and the pressure of spring 46cause member 43' to move downwardly past pin 41. A small cylinder 89 isprovided with apiston 90 and piston rod 9 I, which piston rod isattached at 92 to the cam member 33. Thus a restriction to the downwardmovement of the member 43 is provided, the amount of restriction'beingdetermined by the clearance around thepistonBO. If desired, means may beprovided in the piston 90 to adjust the flow from one side of the pistonto the other. In this way the desired-timing action can be given to themember 43 so that a predetermined number .of seconds is required beforethe surface 88 will have moved past the pin 41. During this period theseat is retained in lowered position, after which it is automaticallyreleased and returned to the cabinet by the return spring. With uponlowering of the seat completely to the bowl for release.

A complete operating cycle of the seat will be as follows: With the seatin the up position in the cabinet the electric circuit is completeandthe ultra violet ray lamp is operating to effectively sterilize thesurfaces of the seat exposed to the rays. By pressing on the pedal 2!the seat is lowered to position Mm which is Just slightly abovehorizontal position and is automatically latched and retained in thisposition. During lowering of the seat the ultra violet lamp isautomatically turned off by the action of tilting the mercury switch.When the seat is used, the weight applied carries the seat down tohorizontal position, which movement releases the latch mechanism andafter removal of the weight the seat is raised and returned to thecabinet under the influence of the spring and hydraulic piston unit.During the upward travel the electrical circuit is completed and theultra violet ray lamp again lights, thus completing the cycle ofoperation.

It will be evident therefore, that I have provided a greatly improvedseat unit which'incorporates simplified construction and desirableoperating qualities. The arrangement of operating mechanism results inassembly features which are of importance in reducing the cost ofmanufacture and which also provide improved operating characteristics.The particular arrangement for the combined spring and hydraulic unitproduces a low cost but reliable actuating unit. The upright position ofthe cylinder unit allows the depth of the cabinet to be kept a minimum.The assembly arrangement permits all the operating mechanism to be keptcompletely within the confines of the cabinet, thus enhancing theappearance of the seat unit. The operating pedal construction andmounting permhs ready installation and provides an improved means forlowering the seat without the need of handling an unsterilized part.

I claim:

1. For a hinged toilet seat, mechanism for raising and lowering saidseat including a support, a primary shaft upon which said seat ismounted, a secondary shaft, a depending pedal arm associated with saidsecondary shaft, means interconnecting said secondary shaft and saidhinge shaft for rotating said primary shaft upon movement of said pedalshaft, said means including mechanism providing for greater angularmovement of said seat shaft than of said secondary shaft.

2. A toilet, seat assembly including a frame unit having a pair ofpedestal supports adapted for mounting said frame unit upon a toiletbowl, a hinge shaft supported by said frame unit, a

toilet seat fastened to said hinge shaft, a second shaft supported onsaid frame unit, a depending pedal arm co-operating with said secondshaft, means interconnecting said two shafts providing for largerangular movement of the hinge shaft than for the second shaft,energizing means attached to said base unit, means interconnecting saidhinge shaft and said energizing means in a fashion to provide forstorage of energy in said means during downward movement of said seat,said energizing means providing the force for raising of said seat.

3. For a hinged toilet seat, mechanism for raising and lowering saidseat including a frame unit adapted to be supported on the toilet bowl,

a shaft supported on said frame unit, a toilet seat attached to saidshaft, a pedal arm suported on said frame unit and adapted to causerotation of said shaft for the purpose of lowering said seat uponmovement of said pedal arm, an arm mounted on said shaft, a cylinder andpiston unit, means interconnecting said unit and said arm, a springassociated with said unit. said unit being adapted to provide the forcefor raising said seat and at the same time to control the rate ofmovement of said seat.

41. For a mechanically operated toilet seat, a chassis unit adapted tobe bolted to a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported on said chassis, aseat attached to said hinge shaft, an arm attached to said hinge shaft,9. second shaft positioned in offset relationship to said hinge shaft,an arm attached to said second shaft, said latter arm being longer thansaid first mentioned arm, an operating connection between said arms, anda pedal member connected to said second shaft.

5. For a m;chanically operated toilet seat, a chassis unit adapted to bebolted to a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported on said chassis, a seatattached to said hingeshaft, an arm attached to said hinge shaft, asecond shaft positioned in offset relationship to said hinge shaft, anarm attached to said second shaft, said latter arm being longer thansaid first mentioned arm, an operating connection between said arms, apedal member connected to said second shaft, and a spring device havingmeans operatively interconnecting said spring to said hinge shaft in amanner to permit said spring to counteract the weight of said seat andurge it to raised position.

6. For a mechanica'ly operated toilet seat, a chassis unit adapted to bebolted to a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported on said chassis, a seatattached to said hinge shaft, an arm attached to said hinge shaft, asecond shaft positioned in offset relationship to said hinge shaft, anarm attached to said second shaft, said latter arm being longer thansaid first mentioned arm, an operating connection between said arms, apedal member connected to said second shaft, and a v cylinder and pistonunit mounted on said chassis, a helical compression spring locatedinside said cylinder and piston unit, means interconnecting saidcylinder and piston unit to said hinge shaft whereby said springprovides a force to urge said seat to its raised position and saidpiston unit provides a controlling action upon the movement of saidseat.

7. For a hinged toilet seat, mechanism for raising and lowering saidseat including a shaft, 9. toilet seat attached to said shaft, a secondshaft in oil'set relation to said first shaft, said second shaftihavinga pedal arm attached thereto, an operating connection between saidshafts, a cylinder and piston device operatively associated with saidfirst shaft and-a spring element with interconnecting means to saidfirst shaft.

8. For a toilet seat, a hinge shaft, means for swinging said seatfronran upright position to a position slightly above horizontal, adevice for 9. A claim in accordance with claim 8 in which the secondmentioned surface is in the form of a recess shaped to fit said meansand adapted to release said means upon movement of the seat tohorizontal position.

10. A claim in accordance with claim 8 and having a single springelement urging said cam part against said means in two senses.

11. A claim in accordance with claim 8 and having timing means adaptedto release said latch and allow said seat to be free to return after apredetermined interval.

12. For a mechanically operated toilet seat, a chassis unit adapted tobe bolted to a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported on said chassis, aseat attached to said hinge shaft, an arm attached to said hinge shaft,a second shaft positioned in oifset relationship to said hinge shaft, anarm attached to said second shaft, said latter arm being longer thansaid first mentioned arm, an operating connection between said arms, apedal member connected to said second shaft, and a pair of adjustablestops attached to contact the arm of said second shaft to adjustablylimit its v range of movement.

13. A sterilized toilet seat assembly including a base adapted forattachment to a toilet bowl, a shaft hinged to said base, a toilet seatcarried by said shaft, means for lowering said seat, a sprin actuateddevice mounted upon said base for rais- I mg said seat, structural meansattached to said I base, a sterilizing ray lamp mounted on saidstructural means, a cabinet having an open bottom of generallyrectangular shape tosuit the shape of said base,said cabinet beingremovably on said base, a pedal connected with said, shaft,

an upright piston and cylinder unit supported on said base, a springhoused in said cylinder and means interconnecting said unit to saidhinge shaft, an upright structural member attached to said base, asterilizing light and a reflector element supported by said uprightmember, a cabi-. net unit removably fastened to said base and adapted tohouse all of said parts except, said pedal.

15. For a mechanically operated toilet seat, a base unit for attachmentto a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported in said base unit, a toiletseat attached. to said hinge shaft, an upright hydraulic cylinderattached to said base unit close to said hinge shaft, a cover for saidhydraulic cylinder, a piston and piston rod adapted to fit saidhydraulic cylinder, said piston rod projecting through said cover, ahelical compression spring located between said piston and said coverand surrounding said piston. rod, an element attached to said hingeshaft, means interconnecting said piston rod and said element totransmit the spring force and hydraulic control forces to said hingeshaft.

16. A toilet seat operating mechanism comprisremoving said pedal armmember from said shaft including a cylindrical part. attached to saidpedal arm, said cylindrical part having means for transmitting torqueand having a central hole therein, a bolt member adapted to fit saidhole to permit retaining or removing of said pedal arm by inserting orremoving said bolt.

17. For a mechanically operated toilet seat, a base unit having twopedestal members adapted to be bolted to a toilet bowl, said base unithaving bearing means for supporting a seat hinge, a beam-like membersupported by said pedestal members and raised above said toilet bowl, anenlarged box-like structure supported at each end of said beam member, acabinet unit, said base unit being shaped to define the shape of thelower part of said cabinet unit.

18. For a toilet seat, a hinge shaft having a seat unit attachedthereto, means for moving said seat from an upright position to aposition slightly above horizontal, a device for latching said seat insaid position, said device having a pivotally mounted part, an armattached to said hinge shaft and having a projecting member forcontacting said part, said part having an indented surface against whichsaid member makes contact during downward movement of the seat, a secondsurface against which said part makes contact for retaining said seat inlatched position, said second surface being shaped to causemovement ofsaid part 'to'release said member to move back-along said first surfaceupon application of an excess load against said second surface.

19. For a hinged toilet seat unit, mechanism for raising and loweringsaid seat including a pair of pedestals adapted 'to mount said seat unitto a toilet bowl, a beam member integrally attached to the upper portionof said pedestals and extending between and beyond said pedestals, an

enlarged bracket part integrally attached to each end of said beam-likemember, a shaft extend- I ing from one bracket part. to the otherbracket part, a seat supported on said shaft, mechanism supported on oneof said bracket parts by means of which said seat may be moved intolowered position and mechanism supported on'the other of said bracketparts by means of which said seal; may be raised.

20. For a mechanically operated toilet seat, a base unit for attachmentto a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported in said base unit, a toiletseat attached to said hinge shaft, pedal operated means for moving saidseat from upright to approximately horizontal position, a latch devicefor retaining said seat in said horizontal position, said device beingadapted to release upon slight additional movement of said seat, meansfor raising said seat upon release from horizontal position and acylindrical damping device mounted in substantially vertical position. g

21. For a mechanically operated toilet seat, a base unit for attachmentto a toilet bowl, a hinge shaft supported in said base unit, a toiletseat attached to said hinge shaft, pedal operated means for moving saidseat from upright to approximately horizontal position, a latch deviceforretaining said seat in said horizontal position, said deviceincluding two parts in sliding engagement, one of said parts beingfastened to said base unit and the other of said parts being associatedwith said hinge shaft.

HARRIS S, CAM BELL.

